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The challenge of raising the level cap in Borderlands 2

Borderlands 2 fans want an increase in the game's level cap. But, it's not as easy as turning on a switch, Gearbox Software's Randy Pitchford explained.

Borderlands 2 fans want an increase in the game's level cap. But, it's not as easy as turning on a switch, Gearbox Software's Randy Pitchford explained. According to Pitchford, the experience system of Borderlands 2 is "complete," and that simply raising the level cap could lead to "game-breaking" situations.

"We don't just want the numbers to increase, we want the skill points. And some of the skill points are mutually exclusive; they're designed so that you know what you can build in terms of the trade-off between different trees. You can't fully build out two trees," he explained.

But what if you could? "Some of the combinations become game-breaking," he told Digital Trends.

Not only does the game have to be rebalanced with a new level cap, new content would have to be created. "We also have to design and build new iterations of the enemies... You want gear too. That stuff doesn't just magically happen," he explained. "Basically, we have to make the game again."

Fans have been incredibly vocal about making the level cap go up, which has put Pitchford in an awkward position. "We really want to do right by our customers," he said, but noted that the cost of testing an update would be "ridiculous," and could face opposition from publisher 2K Games. "We are committed to it, but it's not easy."